Review: PERSON OF INTEREST Season 1 Episode 2 Ghosts

Saturday, 1 October 2011

I'm still not convinced that I am going to review the whole series of Person Of Interest, although I will probably watch all of it so why not give you a little write up every week! Luckily for you there really isn't to much other stuff on TV right now and this week inparticular I have a talking point which regular commenter Ruben brought up last week, actually make that two talking points.

As you know this is kind of a vigilante show in which Finch (Michael Emmerson) and John Reese (Jim Cavizel) are fighting there own personal war against crime, this is achieved by a computer program designed by Finch which spits out SSN's (Social Security Numbers). This week the machine gave the SSN of a teenager who was killed along with her family 2 years earlier, doubts over the machines ability are brought into place but with some checking Finch is able to determine that if the machine has gave her number then she must be alive.
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The numbers are all the same (click to enlarge)

﻿ This brings me to my first talking point. Did anyone notice the close up of the SSN's last week? Did you notice that all of the numbers repeated themselves? Take a look at the picture I have highlighted the matching numbers, but they aren't the only ones the scene goes back and you see the top of the list and all the numbers I haven't highlighted here are repeated there. This weeks episode was all about the numbers so I feel like it was a good opportunity to bring it up. Are the repeating numbers something that they have done on purpose? Maybe it is and will be explained in another couple of episodes, who knows! Remember leading bad ass Reese was in the CIA, working for them you would surely notice that the numbers are repeated, any how maybe I'm just reading to much into it.

This was a pretty decent episode following last weeks set up, as I thought then Reese is clearly going to try and find out more about Finch who up to now has always been one step ahead of him. We got to learn the origins of the machine thanks to flashbacks on Finch's part, there are only 8 people who know it actually exists and what it's capable of and we also now know that Finch is only collecting SSN's of people who live in New York. Does that mean that the show has potential to open it up? Maybe Finch could have his own personal CIA with operatives all over the country collecting SSN's and preventing crime.

On the plus side again this week at least John Reese is starting to show some interest in the job he has been hired to do, he seemed to get on with things a lot quicker and he got his ass kicked this week. I suppose that makes things a little more realistic. One thing that gets on my back a little is the constant switching to a CCTV view, I know that's what the show is mainly about but it kind of reminds me of Enemy Of The State (great movie) but it's not done with the same slickness as it was there.

Onto the other talking point now, why does John Reese shoot everyone in the leg? He done it again this week when that guy was about to shoot the kid he was trying to save. Why shoot him in the leg? I can only presume he's not dead, and he will surely come after him again. On this occasion though like last week we weren't to know because that was where the show ended. If he shoots them in the leg every week then Reese is going to have some number of people after him come the end of the series, albeit they will probably all have horrendous limps.

So to conclude a solid episode and well followed on from last week, I will be watching again next week when Person Of Interest continues on CBS Thursday October 6th 2011 at 9pm.